


Something Real

by Raine_Wynd



Category: Pacific Rim (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Shifters, Assumptions, Chuck Hansen Lives, Developing Relationship, Foul Language, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Post-Canon, Probably Not Tagged Enough to Suit Anyone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-19
Updated: 2021-01-19
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:00:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28847949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raine_Wynd/pseuds/Raine_Wynd
Summary: Post-Pitfall, Chuck almost screws up his shot at dating Raleigh.
Relationships: Chuck Hansen & Hercules Hansen, Raleigh Becket/Chuck Hansen
Comments: 31
Kudos: 45





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this about three years ago and abandoned it, hoping the muse would magically strike to where I could finish it in a good, hopeful place. That finally happened, so here it is. I hope y'all like it!
> 
> Thanks to Sam J. and Rhi, who probably saw a version or seven of this back then.

Chuck limped over to his father’s office in the newly reopened Sydney Shatterdome. It figured he survived Operation Pitfall with a minor concussion from when Stacker had knocked him to out to get him in an escape pod, only to break his ankle tripping over Max the week before they moved the PPDC from Hong Kong to Sydney.

Four months after Pitfall’s success, the Hong Kong ‘dome was being turned into a memorial and museum. Having negotiated a settlement with the UN that left them independent, the PPDC was now charged with K-science research and engineering assistance with reconstruction.

Herc looked up from the computer he was using and smiled at Chuck. “Morning.”

“What are you doing working?” Chuck asked. “You promised me we’d spent this weekend doing something together.”

Herc laughed. “What happened to the guy that didn’t want to spend time with his old man?”

“Pitfall,” Chuck shot back, and Herc smiled ruefully. “Speaking of people – haven’t seen Raleigh around here. I know Mako flew in with us, but where’s Becket?”

Herc grinned. “Around.”

Then Chuck noticed the golden retriever sleeping fitfully next to Max. Chuck looked at the two dogs, then looked at his father. He knew well that his father had long ago put his foot down about them owning more than one dog. PPDC rules stated that any pet had to be cleared with the marshal, so Chuck knew something was up. The way his father looked at him expectantly as if he should be able to guess something so obvious led to only one conclusion.

“Seriously, old man? Raleigh’s a shifter?” Though shifters had become more known as the Kaiju War had gone on, they were still perceived as private. Most shied away from publicity. Those that had revealed themselves were usually the most flamboyant of the lot or had been outed often not good.

“Both of the Beckets were,” Herc replied. “They were the only shifters ever to pilot a jaeger. Kept it quiet because Yancy didn’t think the public would react well. Your uncle, well, he got it in his head they weren’t _normal_ , not with the way they were so compatible, and poked at them until he got his answer. Nearly was bitten for the trouble.”

Chuck turned wounded eyes on his father. Another damn secret Herc had hid from him in the Drift. Even as he thought that, he knew precisely why his father had filed it under ‘things Chuck doesn’t need to know because they’re PPDC confidential.’ Prior to the Double Event, Chuck would’ve found a way to mock Raleigh for being a shifter. He probably would’ve said it was why he was a has-been – but Chuck _knew_ that was as far from the truth as it could be. He resisted the urge to go over and pet Raleigh in his shifted form. If it had been just any other random dog, Chuck would’ve been right there. From the way Max was guarding Raleigh, Chuck was confident his dog saw Raleigh as someone to protect…which usually meant Chuck had to move carefully if he wanted to pet Max.

“I wouldn’t have said anything,” Chuck said.

“Not to anyone else,” Herc agreed. “To Raleigh? You made it clear what you thought of him when you met. Wasn’t going to tell you more because you weren’t interested in listening.”

“Wasn’t expecting him to be friendly after Pitfall,” Chuck allowed. “If it were me, I’d be accusing me of using you to get out of the mission, but he knew why you did it. Said if I were in your shoes, he’d do the same thing. He said my telling him how fast Raiju and Scunner were moving helped him and Mako anticipate the attacks better, that hearing Scott and Stacker instead of you or me in Striker helped him keep focused.” Chuck shrugs awkwardly; he’d gone to medical to sit with Raleigh out of a sense of guilt, and been surprised to discover the American wanted his company. Raleigh, as it turned out, had broken a few ribs, in addition to drive suit burns, radiation exposure, and oxygen deprivation, so he had been stuck in Medical for six weeks. “Said having me around to talk to while he was recovering made a difference. Just…why didn’t he tell me he could shift? Thought we were becoming friends.”

Herc didn’t look surprised by this. “Not something he could bring into casual conversation,” Herc pointed out. “And being a shifter doesn’t mean he can heal any faster, just that he’s immune to most diseases.” More gently, Herc added, “He has been made to think being a shifter’s either something to be ashamed of or fetishized so he won’t mention it. Some people get off on seeing shifters change forms since they can’t shift without being naked first. Took me fifteen minutes to convince him he needed to shift and that it was safe. Apparently, the last time he did it, he nearly got stuck in an animal shelter.”

Chuck’s lips twitched. It was only when his father added, “Raleigh admits in hindsight, it’s pretty funny, but I wouldn’t bring it up to him,” that he let out a chuckle. Then a thought occurred to Chuck. “What happens if Raleigh doesn’t shift?”

“It happens spontaneously. Not only can he not control it, but there’s also the danger he could go feral and lose his humanity.”

Chuck stared at his father. “How do you know all this shit?”

Herc sighed. “Before I met your mother,” he said carefully, “I dated a shifter.”

Chuck stared at him, glimpses of memories from the Drift suddenly sliding into place. The old shock at discovering that his father was bisexual was abruptly compounded by the realization that the reason his father liked bears so damned much was because he’d known a bear shifter intimately. All this time, Chuck had thought Herc meant ‘bears’ in the slang term for a particular type of a gay man, not shifter. “Dad!”

Herc shrugged unrepentantly. “Not like you’re gonna get this information without asking someone. Internet’s full of misinformation, some of it planted by shifters themselves. Oh, and before you ask, no, shifters don’t mate for life, and you can’t be turned into one through sex.” He nodded toward Raleigh, still asleep. “He figured you’d come to me anyway.”

For a moment, Chuck stood there stupidly, unsure how to take that statement. “Oi, I’m not sweet on him!”

Herc grinned. “Not how he smells it.”

Chuck’s eyes narrowed. “If you think I’d do anything with him because you approve–”

“You’re my son,” Herc cuts him off, stepping out from behind the desk to stand before Chuck. “And you wear your heart on your sleeve when you think other people aren’t paying attention, but I’ve been in your head, boy. You never spend time with anyone you don’t think is worth your time unless you’re ordered to do so. Even then, you make it clear you don’t want to be there. I’ve seen how you look at him, and whether I approved or didn’t, you’d still do whatever you wanted. Now, you can be the right shit you’re capable of being, or you can be a grown-up and think about whether you want to get involved with Raleigh, knowing he’s a shifter.”

“Sure you don’t want him?” Chuck shot back, uncomfortable with the attention. “Since you already know what shifter cock is like.”

Herc just looked at his son. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Herc asked evenly. “More reason to hate me, when we both know different? I wouldn’t touch Raleigh like that and you know it.”

Chuck did know. Herc’s type tended towards people who weren’t fair-skinned and blond. Herc hadn’t been a monk in all the years since Angela’s death, and his choice of partners tended to be his age or slightly older, and certainly no one in Chuck’s age range. Herc had never been ashamed of his sexuality or his needs. Though he’d done his best to be circumspect in the Drift, some of his experiences had bled through. It had made Chuck’s acceptance of his sexuality easier in some ways.

Evidently reading Chuck’s expression, Herc went on, “You want to fuck your relationship up with Raleigh before it even starts? Repeat that kind of shit to Raleigh.” Herc’s eyes narrowed and he added, “It’s not like he hasn’t heard it before or anything. Now do you get why he didn’t trust you with this before?”

Chuck stared at his father. He was abruptly aware he had internalized some of the stereotypes about shifters – that they were well-endowed; that they were animalistic in their lust; that once you had sex with a shifter, you’d crave it always. Embarrassed, Chuck decided the better part of valor was retreat, so he turned and left the office without saying a word.


	2. Chapter 2

Chuck made himself scarce for the rest of the day, aware that he’d fucked up and not sure how to untangle himself from it without looking like a giant idiot. He was sure his father would forgive him, but he wasn’t too sure if Raleigh had overheard any of the conversation. For the moment, Chuck was grateful that with the change of Shatterdomes, he was back to his old quarters, which meant he wasn’t sharing with his father like he’d had to in Hong Kong.

He got his answer when Raleigh showed up at his door. Raleigh looked far more relaxed than Chuck had ever seen him, dressed in a pair of faded Levi’s and a t-shirt that advertised _Hard Rock Café – Anchorage_ in flaking lettering. It was such a change from Raleigh’s usual sweaters that Chuck almost didn’t recognize him.

Raleigh grinned. “I do own something else besides sweaters. Besides, it’s a bitch to replace those; T-shirts are easier to carry and nobody cares if there are a couple of holes. Mind if I come in?”

Chuck stared at him a moment for nodding and pulling the door open further. The Sydney Shatterdome had taken a more practical approach to jaeger quarters, turning them less into cells aboard a ship and more like extended-stay hotel suites. Chuck’s room had an actual couch along one wall and a coffee table. It also had a queen-sized bed covered with the PPDC-issue blue lightweight comforter and white sheets. A standard-issue built-in desk/bookcase combo occupied one corner. Next to it was the kitchenette. Chuck had hung Striker Eureka’s schematics on the wall above the couch. Over the years, he’d annotated the changes that had been made and the changes he’d wanted to make. The bookcase was full of model jaegers, all of them signed by their pilots. The scale replicas attested to the fact that as the son of two jaeger pilots, no one had seen fit to refuse to give Chuck a souvenir. For a moment, Chuck held his breath, aware he’d never removed any of the jaegers, his silent tribute to those who’d come before him. Bad pilots they might’ve been, but he was grateful for them all the same; they had kept the world safe so he could pilot.

Raleigh took it all in a single glance. His eyes fell on the scale model of Gipsy Danger, signed by him and Yancy all those years ago after the three-jaeger drop in Manila. “Always wondered if you got that okay,” he said, smiling.

Chuck looked at him, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Scott dropped it in the bay. Wanted to see if we’d go retrieve it. Your dad made him do it; said we weren’t Labradors and if he wanted to act like a dingo, he was welcome to go fish it out. ‘Course, we had another one, but it was worth seeing your uncle squirm. He was a shit about finding out we could shift.” Raleigh took his eyes off the scale model and looked at Chuck expectantly.

Chuck held no illusions about his uncle. Scott had been the class clown, the party boy, the guy who’d try anything once just to see if he could get away with it. Even before Scissure, Chuck remembered his uncle as the man who had taught him how to play poker and count cards. Scott had been nobody’s angel, and even at six years old, Chuck had known it. The years since then had only firmed up Chuck’s conviction that his uncle was no one to follow. The glimpses he’d gotten of Scott through the Drift had left him with the definite impression that his uncle hadn’t liked being told no.

“Sounds like my uncle,” Chuck said. “He was an asshole, even to family. Glad the bastard’s dead.”

“What does that make you?” Raleigh challenged, and Chuck’s heart sunk. Raleigh _had_ overheard at least part of his conversation with Herc.

Chuck took a deep breath before speaking. “An idiot who didn’t know any better,” he admitted, and watched the surprise blossom on Raleigh’s face. “My old man’s good at keeping secrets; one of the reasons Stacker chose him for his 2IC was because he could hide shit in the Drift. Couldn’t hide emotions for shit, but confidential stuff, stuff somebody told Herc to lock away – that shit was safe from me.”

Raleigh said nothing for a moment before asking, “So what were you hoping for from me? Because if all you want is to see what it feels like to get fucked by a guy, I’m not interested. I’m done with being someone’s experiment.”

Chuck jerked a little at that. He’d thought he’d known who Raleigh was – quiet, not inclined to talk much, preferring to let Mako speak for both of them – but he’d forgotten this was also the guy who’d been strategizing with Stacker, trying to formulate a plan of attack for two Category IV kaiju. Raleigh could and would shoot if need be, and from the looks of it, Chuck was squarely in his target. He took a deep breath and met Raleigh’s eyes. “Can we just start with ‘I want to be with you’? I thought we were working on something more than friends, something real, and I’d like to see where that goes. If I fuck up, tell me and I’ll do my best to fix it or not repeat the mistake.”

Raleigh studied him. “I can do that,” he agreed. “You got any plans for tonight?”

Chuck shook his head.

“I’ll pick you up at 7:30 then.”

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback adored - kudos, comments, constructive criticism, keyboard smashes, "I liked this!", etc.


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